Tell us about your tech role in the Waikato.
I’m a director and co-founder of Company-X in Hamilton. We’re a software company that creates systems that run the world better – whether that’s through analysis and architecture, software design and development, augmented and virtual reality, speech synthesis or hosting, maintenance and support.
Many of our clients collect data to derive insights and value from, and our role is often to help them be more efficient in that process.
Are there any emerging areas of tech that Company-X is embracing?
Yes. Cloud computing is a big one for us – we’ve been using it for a while, and now with tools from Microsoft and AWS (Amazon), we’ve moved into cloud-based data. We’re also embracing AI – not only to improve quality, efficiency, and decision-making internally, but also to design and deliver AI-driven software solutions for our clients.
Over the last 10 years, there’s been a real move to large cloud storage – we have a tool called Transport Insights with Waka Kotahi, for example, which heavily relies on significant cloud data storage. That’s enabled us to do quite radical things, and we now have nine years of New Zealand’s roading assets data and its condition saved in a massive data lake. It’s the first time any country has done that.
AI in the cloud is ramping up and we’re also delving into virtual and mixed reality. We’re building solutions for the Royal New Zealand Navy, for example, that uses mixed reality to allow two people to interact with a virtual view. So you can look at a digital representation of what’s in the room, which isn’t new. But what is new is having another person in the room to interact with. There are very few companies in New Zealand doing this.
Has basing your tech business in Hamilton provided any advantages?
Yes. My experience of doing business in the Waikato is that you join a supportive, collaborative, engaged and progressive tech community. I’m forever gob smacked at how much support you get from all manner of other businesses here – people who are actually willing to give you their time.
We talk with other tech companies all the time, and they’re pushing boundaries in their areas, and so is Company-X. So it’s fantastic and so beneficial having other tech companies to collaborate with.
There are tech companies in the Waikato who are working across Europe, Australia, Singapore, USA – all around the world. We’ve become a network of businesses who are solving the same growth challenges and actively supporting each other.
Then, for me personally, it’s the lifestyle. I get to live in Raglan and work in Hamilton which, as a surfer, is huge.
It’s not hard for me to switch into work mode on my way into the office, usually by making client calls or strategising the day ahead. I really value that time – about 45 minutes – to prepare myself and arrive ready to support our team.
On the way home my mindset quickly shifts back to family, my overall wellbeing, or wondering what the surf is doing and if my kids have beaten me to the water.
Moving through lush green farmland, native nīkau, kahikitea and punga is different to the usual daily routine that many people dread. It’s become an enjoyable slice of the day that helps me blend or balance two very distinct aspects of my life.
What else about the lifestyle do you enjoy?
Coming to the beach as a surfer is obvious.
Leaving Auckland and making Raglan my home all those years ago was bliss. I couldn’t believe it. The first house I rented had views over the beach and out to Mussel Rock. Now I live near Mt Karioi surrounded by native bush
Being home for me really means being in and around the ocean. It’s the place I relax. It’s grounding. It’s a reality check. It’s how I get back to the basics in life. I get in the water and go ‘wow – this is what it’s all about’.
Punk music icon Iggy Pop once described his love of the beach as a place where he could “look out and see the end of complications”. I really like that. It rings true for me.
Of course, not everyone will live in Raglan, but having a career based in Hamilton means that you have so many choices about what kind of life you build away from work. Running a tech company and working with so many talented people is hugely rewarding, but so is the ability to create a lifestyle that helps us connect to the things we identify as our real purpose.
If you were to host an international tech founder, what would you want them to remember about Waikato’s tech sector?
Well, let me tell you because this actually happened. Our US-based customer Cisco sent their project manager and assistant to Hamilton for in-person collaboration and meetings about key projects.
We showed them around the Waikato, we took them to Hobbiton, Rotorua and all those places. But we also brought them out to Raglan and took them around the harbour.
At the end of that day, we were having fish and chips at the wharf, and who should we bump into but Neil Richardson, a fantastic entrepreneur who started the Hamilton networking tech company, Endace. So we start a conversation you’d expect to have in a city like Seattle, San Francisco or Singapore, sharing innovative ideas and discussing things that we’re all working on.
That’s the beauty of being part of the tech community in the Waikato – this type of thing happens naturally. We’re so open and supportive which helps our businesses do well and also makes things a lot of fun.
